mangia bene. beve bene. viva bene.

Monthly Archives: January 2013

Another weekend done and I’m not too sure where it went! We didn’t have too much on the agenda this weekend, which was a nice change. Saturday consisted of furniture shopping for our sunroom/woodstove room (we’re still so undecided about what to do. I might post a picture to see what you guys think we should do with it!). I also attacked our spare bedroom, which became a dumping ground for all things wedding/Christmas related. Organizing, putting things away and throwing stuff out was sorely needed. Two hours later, I’m still not done, but the room is now livable! Plus, it was kind of fun to look back at all of the wedding-related stuff that was in there. Last night we visited two groups of friends, and at the second party, my girlfriends and I played board games, drank wine and munched on yummy hors d’oeuvres, including my favourite cheeseball recipe and mini taco cups (Pinterest-inspired, of course!). It was a really late night, which means today wasn’t as productive! Lunch with friends at our local breakfast joint was the highlight, and I’m loving the red carpet coverage of the SAG Awards (although for some reason, our satellite provider isn’t showing the actual award show itself!).

Lots on the go this week, including a visit/dinner with my mom tomorrow night, a trip to the mall on Tuesday, and lots of cooking and preparation for the weekend! I’ll be preparing a dessert for a baby shower on Sunday, and we’re hosting a small Super Bowl get together afterward, with lots of yummy snacks on the menu.

I should always remember to check the weather before leaving the house.

All week the temps have been frigid, but we haven’t had any snow. So wearing my TOMS + a pair of socks to work was appropriate footwear (my dress pants hid the socks). The thing is, I loathe wearing socks. I avoid them at all costs. I knew today wasn’t going to be as cold as it had been, and last I heard the weather forecast only called for flurries. Epic fail.

Besides just checking the weather more regularly, I think I’ll throw my uggs in the car from now on. 😉

Alex’s mom and her boyfriend and his brother and nephew came over for dinner tonight. We had a Mexican fiesta with fajitas, tacos, rice and nachos. It was a feast! I was too busy visiting to take photos of our meal.. Fail #2 today!

Thursday night at my mom’s house is always pasta night. It’s been like that for years – and I’m not even sure why, to tell you the truth. But no one ever asked what was for dinner on Thursdays – we knew it would be some kind of pasta, and it would always be delicious.

My family has been making tomato sauce for longer than I can remember. When tomatoes come into season at the end of August or early September, my grandfather goes on a hunt for the best looking tomatoes and buys bushels upon bushels.

We dedicate an entire day to making sauce. Sorting the tomatoes, washing them off, boiling them, feeding them through the sauce machine (I’m sure there’s a more technical term!), boiling the sauce and then jarring it. This past year we had 12 (or maybe more . . . ) bushels of tomatoes. It was one of our biggest years yet! I look forward to this day every year.

My adorable Nonno draining the boiled tomatoes.

A giant pot of sauce, ready for boiling and jarring.

The day always ends with a late-afternoon feast, including homemade wine, natch.

The ironic part of all of this is . . . I HATE tomatoes. I know. What kind of Italian hates tomatoes? Not only that, but I hate ketchup, and store-bought tomato sauce. The sauce we make is literally pure tomatoes, and it is the best.sauce.ever. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve forced myself to eat tomatoes more, and to not be afraid to order pasta at (certain) restaurants. But I’m definitely a tomato sauce snob.

All of this is to say that no matter what happens on Thursdays, I know I can walk into my mom’s house and smell sauce simmering and instantly be happier (luckily she only lives five minutes away!).

In the last year or so, since Alex and I have lived on our own, we haven’t held up the Thursday night pasta tradition. I know. Blasphemous. It’s just that Thursday nights have somehow become pizza-and-wing night or clean-out-the-fridge night. But in an attempt to eat better (and save money), we’ve been trying to turn this around. One of my faaaavourite food blogs, Iowa Girl Eats, is pro at making lighter versions of delicious restaurant-style food. Alex and I love everything Buffalo-related (well mostly the wings and hot sauce for him, and the shopping deals for me!), so naturally her recipe for buffalo chicken egg rolls stood out for me. Tangy ranch sauce is combined with perfectly spicy shredded buffalo chicken and sealed in an egg roll wrapper, baked to crisp perfection.

I seasoned two chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then pan fried in a teaspoon of olive oil until golden brown. I’ve read on Pinterest that a stand mixer comes in handy when shredding chicken, and I’ve been converted. Add your chicken breasts (I had cut mine into a few smaller pieces before hand, but I’m not sure this was necessary) and turn your mixer on to medium. Within a few minutes, my chicken was perfectly shredded.

I added a dash of my favourite Buffalo-style wing sauce and spooned about two tablespoons full of shredded chicken into an egg roll wrapper with some ranch dressing (you can use blue cheese if you want, but I prefer ranch!).

Wrapped up and baked for 20 minutes at 400 F (my personal preference, 425 F was too high in my oven), these buffalo chicken egg rolls were a perfect lighter alternative to chicken wings. I chopped up some broccoli and drizzled it with olive oil, garlic salt, fresh cracked pepper and a dash of parmesan cheese and baked it right along the egg rolls for the same amount of time, and threw some potatoes in my beloved ActiFry, and voila!